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Culture War Roundup for the week of March 10, 2025

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The US-Canada trade war is off on off on off! Retaliatory 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum that is. The rest are still on.

"This cannot continue," Trump wrote. "The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. The artificial line of separation drawn many years ago will finally disappear, and we will have the safest and most beautiful Nation anywhere in the World," he added.

“And your brilliant anthem, 'O Canada,' will continue to play, but now representing a GREAT and POWERFUL STATE within the greatest Nation that the World has ever seen!"

Even if Canada agreed to become a US state, Congress wouldn’t go for it because it would permanently cede every national election to the Democratic Party. Surely someone has told Trump!? Disregarding statehood as the {only way to stop this}, I’m guessing steel factories take longer than 4 years to build. An agent of chaos indeed!

So, what is the off ramp? The US annexes Canada and changes its name to Canada? Border state republicans take away Trump’s toys tariffs until he can play nicely? Global depression? Or the continuation of flip flopping tariffs to placate boredom?

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/11/trump-raises-canadian-steel-aluminum-tariffs-to-50percent-in-retaliation-for-ontario-energy-duties.html

For the trolling enthusiasts and Art-of-the-Deal readers out there: At what point am I allowed to take his rhetoric on Canada seriously? What baffles me is how the hell he could want it in the first place. It's got so many problems... But with that latest post from him, I kind of believe he actually does want it.

Personally, I'd rather see a Mexico takeover. It would be a lot more satisfying to make it a zero-to-hero country, maybe go in and strangle the cartels to death and ensure good elections with no corruption, and watch it bloom. Maybe it would get even better than Spain!

It seems to have worked to stop the counter tariff, actually. I wonder how long this dance will continue.

He's a real estate guy, Canada is a lot of real estate. You could connect Alaska to lower 48 instead of the separation that currently exists.

I am Canadian. I'm neutral to mildly positive on an American take-over, only because our gdp per capita and median wages are abysmally low compared to the USA. Healthcare is...eh, I've tried to crunch the numbers on cost vs time, and end of the day I still think ours is slightly better for my situation. Took me 3 months to get a hernia surgery, and a relative in the states 3 days - but it was $3k for them. Mine was "free". But man, i am an outlier, people here hate america now, moreso than ever before

interesting. can i ask, how long have you been canadian? fewer than 5 years? are you perhaps of a subcontinental persuasion?

This is kind of funny - does my writing style sound Indian? Or is it the fact that I don't have much national pride after the country spent the last decade trying to stamp it out?

I am very white, born and raised in 'Berta. Family history Acadia/Australia/Wales/USA mix